


Bitter Sweets

by Maewen



Category: Galileo (TV Japan)
Genre: Gen, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 07:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1183813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maewen/pseuds/Maewen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Utsumi came every Valentine's Day to give them something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bitter Sweets

Kuribayashi Hiromi knew she would come today. Utsumi Kaoru always came on Valentine’s Day to give Professor Yukawa Manabu handmade chocolates. She never left Kuribayashi out, either. The professor always got a little more and the packaging seemed nicer, but that wasn’t something Kuribayashi minded. The first year she had brought them, they had been vaguely cat-shaped, but each year, they grew into more defined shapes. Kuribayashi was looking forward to possibly perfect cats this year. His wife liked it when he brought home cute things.

 

He was right about Utsumi stopping by. The detective came today, but she looked even more animated than usual. “I tried something different this time,” she said excitedly, waving a cute, paper bag in front of Professor Yukawa’s face. “Cookies!”

 

The professor eyed the bag skeptically and took out a cookie. It was vaguely cat-shaped. “Do your now-practiced chocolate molding skills not carry over to baked goods?”

 

“Just eat it,” she said, giving his hand a little shove.

 

Kuribayashi could tell when Yukawa liked something, even when he tried to hide it. Apparently so could Utsumi because she beamed and started babbling excitedly about watching a show starring a baker, a patissier, and a French chef. The assistant turned back to his work and waited his turn for the cookies. Instead he heard the voices move away and the door close.

 

Kuribayashi looked up at the closed door disbelievingly. Had Utsumi actually not given him anything this year? Had they both just completely ignored him and gone off somewhere together? Had he officially become a third wheel?

 

The assistant stared at the package on Yukawa’s desk. Maybe there was something special in there this time. Maybe this year, they were no longer just thank-you chocolates. Or cookies, as the case may be. He carefully peeked inside--and saw only cookies. Misshapen cookies, but still just cookies. Hm. He picked one up, looked at it closely, and stuck it in his mouth. He immediately wanted to spit it out. There was a sweetness in there somewhere, but it was mixed in with something else. That something else tasted slightly bitter, unpleasant, and a bit familiar.

 

"Kuribayashi-san, sorry, I almost forgot yours!" he heard Utsumi's voice call out cheerfully from the doorway. He snatched his hand back from the cookie bag, but considering that his mouth was still full of one, it was obvious what he had been doing.

 

Kuribayashi forced himself to swallow. "It's really delicious!" he said, a bit louder than necessary. If he praised her enough, maybe it wouldn’t cross her mind that he had just been stealing a cookie.

 

She didn't look pleased, the way she had been when Yukawa had eaten the cookies. She didn’t look angry, either. She looked dubious. "Really?" she said, placing the bag she had brought for Kuribayashi next to his arm.

 

“Yep, great!” he reiterated. He grabbed the bag she had set down and shook it enthusiastically. “Can’t wait to have more!”

 

“But these are just plain sugar cookies,” Utsumi said. “So you probably won’t like them as much.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I didn’t know you were such a big fan of instant coffee, too. I kind of think it’s gross, actually. I’ll be sure to flavor yours the same way as Yukawa-sensei’s next time, though.” She gave a little wave and then left.

  
Kuribayashi opened the bag of cookies she had left him and ate one. It tasted exactly as he expected a sugar cookie to taste.


End file.
